These giant symbols etched into the desert are a welcoming message to aliens from Tom Cruise's deeply secretive church of Scientology.

The religion, which believes a sinister extraterrestrial being called Xenu brought billions of people to earth in spaceships similar to DC8 airliners, operates a giant underground base hidden deep within the New Mexico desert.

BBC reporter John Sweeney, who famously clashed with Scientologists during a Panorama report in 2007, travelled to the site dubbed Scientology's 'alien space cathedral', to research a new book.

Welcome to earth: The huge symbol etched into the desert in New Mexico next to the Scientology base dubbed the 'alien space cathedral'

The strange symbols sit on top of a rock formation in New Mexico where the
church of Scientology has built an enormous underground bunker

Hidden some 30 miles from the nearest town, the base is reportedly home to a huge underground bunker, built in the 1980's and strong enough to withstand a nuclear holocaust.

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Deep inside its vaults sealed within titanium caskets, are the original texts of founder L Ron Hubbard on gold discs - the religion's most sacred scriptures.

A report in the Sunnewspaper tells how Sweeney visited the site, known as Trementina Base, and interviewed former members of the church of Scientology for the new book Church of Fear.

Mr Sweeney,who the church has previously described as 'a bigot, a liar and psychotic' said: 'I'd alway wanted to visit Trementina because when you go to the church they always deny this talk of Xenu and space aliens.

'When I spoke to Kirsty Alley and Juliette Lewis in 2007 and asked them 'who is Xenu?' they'd say "John, you're crazy".

'But if I'm wrong about the church believing in aliens, then why have they built these giant symbols in the middle of the desert that can only be seen from outer space?

'I think there is something very strange about a church which builds an enormous cathedral but then hides it away from everyone.

'What concerns me is that Scientology says it wants religious status in the UK. But our rules state religions must be open and honest about their beliefs and I think these are good rules.

'This place is physical proof that they do believe in aliens. I'd like to see Tom Cruise and John Travolta explain why they hide this from people.'

The
symbols, which consist of two interlinking circles with diamonds in the
centre, are reportedly there to guide Scientologists returning to earth
after fleeing to outer space to escape armageddon.

Follower: Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise, left, has been a Scientologist since the early 1990s and, right, Scientology leader David Miscavige, addresses the crowd during the opening of a new church in London

Mr Sweeney was accompanied by a former Scientologist Marc Headley, who claims to have been 'audited' by Cruise and then beaten up by the church’s leader David Miscavige - incidents which the church strongly deny.

After travelling many miles along a dirt road, the pair made it as far as a set of huge steel gates guarded by two security cameras, where they were turned away.

He writes: 'I press an intercom button. A voice says “Hello” in what sounds like a Scandinavian accent. I announce that I’m John Sweeney and ask nicely for a tour.

'We are not invited in and the intercom simply spouts white noise. We drive back to civilisation, wondering what kind of religion builds a space alien cathedral underground.'

The reporter claims he received two
mysterious phone calls to his hotel room at 1am that night for which he
believes Scientologists were responsible.

Mr Headley, who was brought up inside the church from the age of six, has written the book Blown For Good: Inside the Dark Curtain of Scientology.

In it he reveals how the church's E-meter devices, which are used to measure the static electric field around a person, cost just $40 to make but are sold for $4,000 (£2,400). And church leaders reccomend everyone should have two in case one breaks.

In
a piece published in the Mail earlier this year Mr Sweeney recounted
the incident in 2007 when he lost his temper at two Scientologists who
had been trailing him across America.

BBC reporter John Sweeney, who famously clashed with Scientologists
during a Panorama report in 2007, travelled to the Trementina while
researching a new book

He said: 'Five years ago, I spent weeks at the centre of the church’s attention. Private investigators who, I believe, were working for the church chased me around the streets of Los Angeles, invaded my hotel at midnight and put me under surveillance. Strangers spied on my wedding and knocked on the doors of my neighbours.

'In the end, I lost it on camera, doing a good impression of an exploding tomato.

'In the 21st century, everyone has a right to believe in anything, or nothing. But not everything that claims to be a religion is a religion. It could be, for example, a brain-washing cult.

'For a start, a religion must be honest about what it believes in. Scientologists believe in a space alien satan called Xenu — but if you ask them, their spokesmen deny it.'

A spokesman for Scientology said the giant markings are merely the corporate logo of the Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) which are used to help pilots find the airstrip.

The Scientology website describes CST as 'a California nonprofit religious corporation formed in 1982 to preserve and archive the Scientology scripture and so ensure its availability for all future generations'.

The spokesman said: 'The facility in New Mexico is one of the archival storage sites containing preservation copies of Mr. Hubbard’s writings and lectures.

'The symbol carved in the hillside near the facility is CST’s corporate logo. Because the facility is in such a remote area the only way to it is by way of a nearby airstrip.'

John Sweeney's book, The Church of Fear — Inside the Weird World of Scientology, is published on January 7 by Silvertail Books, paperback £12.99 and ebook £3.99.